"My sister and her partner's life was stopped in its tracks when their beautiful 17-month-old daughter Connie was diagnosed with Leukaemia."

Jade Miller of Daventry is urging kind-hearted fundraisers to pledge cash to her niece's family after one-year-old Connie Bent was diagnosed with Leukaemia two weeks ago... just four months after she had stopped taking medication for a congenital heart problem.

The little girl had been poorly for a number of weeks and upon taking her to the doctors, her mum, Leanne said she was told her daughter had a virus so she pushed for more blood tests.

Jade said every mum should trust their instincts: "She hadn't been well for a good few weeks and she [Leanne] had been to the GP two or three times to be told Connie had 'just a virus'.

"Due to Connie's heart condition, she pushed and pushed for a blood test and was sent to Northampton General the following day."

After an immediate blood transfusion Connie, who is severely anaemic, was told the following morning she would be transferred to Nottingham hospital to start her treatment.

She added: "It was the very same afternoon, the phone call they received tore their lives apart... that Connie had Leukaemia."

Jade has now set up a fundraising page to raise £750 to cover the family's travelling expenses, to and from Nottingham University Hospital every day, with all leftover funds planned to be spent on treating Connie after her painful start in life.

Jade said Connie's diagnosis has affected her parents greatly: "Connie was due to be transferred back to Northampton General Hospital for the rest of her treatment, but unfortunately within the last few days, the chemotherapy medication has given her a sore mouth and throat and she can't swallow, so she has had a feeding tube inserted.

"She has also had to start a course of antibiotics as she had a raging temperature due to developing some kind of infection.

"It's so scary with all the drugs in her system she just doesn't seem like the same baby, she is so zoned out, sleeping a lot and the poor thing hasn't given anybody one of her beautiful smiles for days."

Connie, who is described by Jade as "happy, silly and cheeky", has been told she will have to take medication until she is nearly four years old.